Ramblings

Before Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the recent televised US presidential TV debate, the New Yorker had pointed out one of the bitter ironies of the 2024 US Presidential Election in an excellent article: Why incoherence helps Trump and hurts Biden. Because Biden is supposed to represent common sense, reason and experience, it is damaging if he seems to be talking nonsense. But voters have no such expectations of Trump, and he spouts his grievance-laden gibberish with such energy that it enthuses his followers – few of whom are interested in any difficult details.

Concerned that I might be going the way of these two examples of America’s finest, I’ve started making a mental note of my micro-mistakes. Not actually counting them of course: that would be far too much effort, and anyway, I’d forget. Perhaps I’m being too harsh – I’ve been making mistakes all my life – but my impression is that I make many more than I used to. I like to cling to memories of the stupid things I did when I was younger: they allow me to believe that no deterioration is happening.

I’m not talking about crashing the car, or leaving the gas on when I go on holiday. I’m talking about the dozens – perhaps hundreds – of tiny mistakes I make every day. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Using the Yale key first to try to open the front door when I know it won’t work when because the deadlock is on
• Forgetting to complete a quick online task because I was distracted by social media or clickbait
• Putting the milk back in the fridge while ignoring the orange juice which also needs to go back in the fridge
• Not knowing which pocket I put my credit card in
• Closing my email app when all I want to do is navigate within the app
• Turning the kitchen tap further on, when I meant to turn it off
• Failing to release the petrol cap lever before getting out of the car at a filling station
• The old classic, forgetting why I went into a room
• Failing to turn down the thermostat before going to bed
• Starting to tell a story or make a point, but going off at a tangent – like telling a related but different story – and
• Forgetting to turn into Stag Lane on the rare occasions when I go to the gym
• Saying CAB when I mean u3a and vice versa
• Bringing my morning coffee upstairs only to find I haven’t put sugar in it

Better sharpen up your act, Rik. I’m watching you.